On June 18, 2020, IncellDx (https://incelldx.com/) announced the patent filing with the US Patent and Trademark Office (USPTO) and the Pre-EUA with the FDA for “CCL5/RANTES Utility As a Diagnostic, Prognostic, and Therapeutic Biomarker in COVID-19.” Severe acute respiratory syndrome coronavirus 2 (SARS-CoV-2), is the causative agent of the novel coronavirus disease 2019 (COVID-19), which is now a global pandemic. Growing information has demonstrated that a dysregulated and/or hyper-immune response causes a “cytokine storm” with massive increases in cytokines and chemokines which leads to infiltration of immune cells in multiple organs driving the significant co-morbidity and mortality in severe COVID-19. CCL5/RANTES is a chemokine that binds to the chemokine receptor CCR5. CCR5 is expressed on immune cells such as T-lymphocytes, macrophages, and natural killer (NK) cells. CCL5/RANTES acts like a magnet for these cells expressing CCR5. Thus, CCL5/RANTES is a marker for the early stages of immune dysregulation in COVID-19 and as a possible therapeutic marker to determine when and how long therapy targeting CCR5 or RANTES should be continued. Other cytokines included in the COVID-19 Cytokine Panel can be used to monitor other COVID-19 therapeutic approaches targeting other cytokines involved in the cytokine storm. These other cytokines included in the COVID-19 Cytokine Panel, in addition to CCL5/RANTES, are IL-6, IL-8,TNF-alpha, and GM-CSF. Bruce Patterson, MD, Chief Executive Officer of IncellDx, commented:Login Or Register To Read Full Story